Dr. Christy Tran, professor of New Testament whose work primarily focuses on Pauline theology, discussed her latest project: Romans bible study catered to frontline mission workers.
A major task of missionaries is introducing and explaining first the need for salvation, and the clear steps of justification, sanctification, and glorification. The doctrine of salvation is explained flawlessly in the book of Romans, and it is this text that serves as the basis of Dr. Tran’s work.
Dr. Tran’s project will initially cover Romans 1-8. Each lesson, divided by theme, includes footnotes for advanced study. For example, one of the lessons, “Justified by His Grace Through Faith in His Blood” (Romans 3:21-31), includes footnotes expanding on theological concepts and additional illustrations for students to explore on their own.
“I am developing this resource to aid missionaries in further expounding complex theological concepts and controversial theological questions. I think this work will be blessed as long as it adheres to the original text. If utilized properly, it will be a very helpful tool for the mission field,” Dr. Tran said.
“It is my prayer for new learners, under the guidance of missionaries, to have a ready-to-use Bible study resource that they can read aloud and gain a clear and deep understanding of. I pray for their hearts to be touched by the work of the Holy Spirit,” she added.
Dr. Tran also expressed that creating a teacher’s handbook or videos will naturally come next in order to equip Bible teachers and missionaries on using this resource efficiently for various audience levels. To that end, further resources and questions from the mission field are being collected into an ‘illustration and question bank’ to enrich the content.